>> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello, good to have you with us for another news hour in in al jazeera in doha. thai protesters scale back their protests ahead of the king's birthday on thursday. i'm in london with the latest from europe, including protests continue in ukraine has russia calls [ inaudible ]. and a clamp down on

prostitution in france. voting begins shortly on the toughest laws in europe. and i'm gabriel in brazil where the fifa final draw will be happening on friday, but everyone here is worried about the state of the stadium. ♪ after ten days of anti-government protests in thailand the rallies appear to be thinning out, but it's temporary. demonstrators say that the fight will continue. earlier they marched to thai police headquarters in in bang cox where they handed over a letter demanding investigation into the death of four protesters. many have now joined the cleanup operation. the streets are littered are rubbish and debris. the king is staying at his

summer palace, but first on the days' events in bangkok. >> reporter: in less than a day it went from rows of rye rot police to rows of street sweepers. like they have for the last ten days, these two pitched in. in previous days protesting. but today cleaning. traveling in from the privileged part of bangkok, the two have been friends for years. >> at least we make a point, and make our presence felt, and that even though the goal may be remote -- >> that goal being the resignation of the prime minister. >> the government still insists that they won't care about millions of people that come out. >> reporter: while on the other side of town they are still

protesting. they came to the police headquarters demanding an investigation into shootings over the weekend. they came for a couple of hours, now they are leaving peacefully. among them are these two. the friends work for the same company in a nearby office. they too have been protesting together for over a month heading to the rallies during their lunch break. >> how do you think the future looking right now? >> i think everybody is pushing for the revolution from the military. it's not a good solution, but it is only one hope that we have now. >> reporter: the army has made it clear, it's staying neutral. since there has been no movement by either side it's difficult to see what could break the impasse. but for one day, thursday, the nation will be in agreement, celebrating the king's birthday.

the streets are expected to be much quieter on thursday than they have been for more than a week now. the king is widely revered by people on all sides of the political spectrum. his 40-year reign makes him the longest serving monarch in the world. in 1992 he played a key role in bringing rival sides together during the country's transition to democracy. >> reporter: this is a seaside town and where the royal family have one of their palaces. the king and queen have beenlying here since being discharged from hospital in august. he is highly revered by thais. they hang pictures of him and his wife in their homes, shops, and even car. people here regard him as some sort of unifying figure. so it's no surprise that they

agreed to a truce in honor of his birthday. he seems to be worlds away from the street demonstrations that have been going on. people are here to book a spot on thursday. people are eager to catch a glimpse of their king. this will be a very rare opportunity to catch a glimpse of him. they seem to be preparing for the celebrations in in a big way. street resources streets that were lined with flags, and pictures of the king and queen, and stores are selling royal souvenirs and t-shirts in honor of the king. >> and a little later in the news hour, we'll take a look at how much support there is for the government out of the capitol bangkok. >> i'm wayne haye, and people

are vowing to take action if political change is forced upon themmen. a husband bow la leader has been held in lebanon. this leader was gunned down outside of his home. hezbollah is accusing israel. but israel denies any involvement. it is thought that he may have been an expert in weapons manufacturing, and was reportedly close to the hezbollah leader. it is believed that he was in his mid-40s. andrew simmons joins us live from beirut. andrew hezbollah accuses israel of being behind this killing. who would have wanted this man dead? this >> many would have wanted this man dead. what is happening now is an

inquiry in hezbollah, it's a rainy funeral, inquiry in their own security as to such a senior figure could have been shot dead outside of his homes. he was hit in the head and the neck. in terms of who wanted him dead? not only the israelies who firmly deny hezbollah's claim, but also the various groups engaged in fighting the syrian regime forces. and his involvement in the war has caused an increasing campaign to try to undermine this group no lebanon and not onlying that, but to attack its figures. and the concern now amongst many people in lebanon is that is this a mounting campaign, one that will be accelerated against

hezbollah. at the moment the organization is standing firm and saying no way will it change its stance in any way. >> just before the shooting he gave a tv interview and suggested that saudi arabia was involved in the iranian embassy bombing. could this be another possible connection to this killing? >> no one is making that directly. but the interesting thing about that interview, a very long unprecedented interview on lebanese tv is that the hezbollah leader is clearly pointi pointing at saudi arabia because saudi's resire to undermine hezbollah, and attack it in every political sphere that he is putting two and two together.

some of the groups involved in trying to undermine hezbollah and iran as well, its major sponsor could be involved in this killing. an al-qaeda linked group claimed responsibility for the bombing outside of the iranian embassy last month. after this killing in the early hours, a group called the free sunni [ inaudible ] brigade, nothing is known of this group, claimed responsibility. so there are some theories that this could be an exka -- escalation on the pressure in syria by hezbollah. he was connected very much with the conflict in israel. his son died in the 2006 war. he was a fighter, and he was always thought to be involved in in explosives, an expert in

explosives. very little was known about him in his life. he was a secretive figure who had many homes. now in his death like so many instances like this, details are emerging as to how important he was, and how connected he was to the leadership of hezbollah. >> andrew simmons thank you very much. the widow of the late palestinian leadia -- leader yasir arafat still believes her husband was poisoned. the chief negotiator for the palestine liberation wants an international tribunal to investigate. >> the french have reached a conclusion that he was not poisoned. why didn't they say this nine years ago?

because nine years ago they said that, and i quote, we did not find any of the diseases that may have caused the death of yasir arafat. my point is here, we have a swiss and russian report saying the following, that he did not die of old age, did not die of natural causes, did not die of any diseases. these three teams exhumed the body and then the russians came to us officially and submitted their findings, so did the swiss, and now i hear about the french conclusions from al jazeera in english. that's not good. i hope that the french government, the french authorities will immediately release their findings to the committee. and yes, i have a strong reason

to believe that after reading the conclusions that there were some conclusive evidence that president arafat was poisoned and this why what we need to do at this stage as palestinians maybe seek an international tribunal through the security council to investigate this matter once and for all, similar to what happened to [ inaudible ] of lebanon. russia has called for order and stability in ukraine has protests continue against the government there. let's join felicity in london. a fight from russian's prime minister is hosting a delegation being lead by the foreign minister let's show you pictures of protesters in independence square in the ukrainian capitol. the prime minister has warned them they will be punished if they break the law. barnaby phillips has the latest

for us. >> reporter: the churches of kiev are packed these days as people look for reassurance and spiritual support. many of those who come to pray have been taking part in the demonstrations in the nearby streets, and protesters who have come from other parts of ukraine have been sleeping on the grounds of the cathedral. >> translator: the church is not involved in politics. we don't take sides, but we do have a social role to support whoever is in need. we have to open our doors and protect people. this is our mission. >> reporter: but in nearby independence square apprentice priests have joined the protest movement. take a look at how organized everything is. this is where you can make a donation to the cause. opposition parties and activists that ensure this money is spent on firewood, tents, sleeping bags, and of course on vast

quantities of food and drink given out to whoever wants it. this was the kiev city christmas tree until a few days ago, but it has been transformed into a pillar of protest. the flags say that ukraine belongs in in europe. and yet the government here warning that these protests are inlegal, and they say that those involved will ultimately face the consequences. ukraine's deputy prime minister has been visiting moscow for talks with prime minister russia says it wants stability and order, but the ukraine government is hoping for money and cheaper gas so it can survive this crisis. the police have withdrawn to the president's office here they keep guard. she says your oath of loyalty is

to ask the people not the politicians. don't beat us, but they do not respond. everyone is waiting to see what will happen if or when these men are given the order to take back the streets. barnaby phillips, al jazeera, kiev. now to rory who is in the capitol of kiev. >> reporter: felicity remember that the reason why ukraine pulled out of the trade agreement with the european union at the end of november was because ukraine said that the benefits, the opportunities that europe was offering to ukraine wouldn't make up for what it was lose in trade with russia. russia had threatened to cut off various trade deals with ukraine if it shifted its alee againsts.

>> translator: i don't understand why nato adopts such statements. it seconds the wrong signals which may cause the situation to be misinterpreted. it's up to the ukraine. it's a domestic issue. >> any sign that the movement is losing its momentum at all? >> reporter: not on the streets, no. they did suffer a political defeat on tuesday when they tried to get a vote of no confidence through in the parliament, that failed and failed fairly significantly by 40 or so votes, but on the streets themselves in independence square the protesters are digging in. they are making this area of the city their turf. they are bringing all sorts of infrastructure to make sure that they can stay here as long as

they want and as long as they choose. and they are saying they are going to stay here until they manage to get rid of the president. of course the government may have other ideas. the government may choose to sweep them from the streets using riot police, but we haven't seen any signs of that happening quite yet. >> stephanie: rory thank you very much indeed. the european commission has fined a group of banks more than $2 billion in allegations they worked together to rig interest rates. they were accused of manipulating european and japanese benchmark interest rates to set the price of trillions of dollars of financial products including mortgages and credit cards. not all of them accept wrongdoing. now britain's most senior law officer is to issue advice on twitter to stop social media users prejudicing court cases. the attorney general wants to

make sure everyone online knows the danger about writing about legal issues. anyone commenting on a case in a way that could prejudice a trial could be prosecuted for contempt and jailed. peaches recently apologized for tweets relating to a case, and several people were fined last year for naming a woman online that was raped. we're joined now by mark smith, a senior associate at the law firm specializing in media law. we hear a lot about those high pro fail cases, but how big of problem is it generally across twitter? >> i think it's a big problem given the number of social media users you have on twitter, and millions of people are on there, and even in this cases that

don't involve high-profile celebrities, you will get comments on the likes of twitter and facebook. >> part of the problem is that regular users of twitter aren't trained in legal matters. journalists go through training courses to know what they can and can't say relating to a court case, and ordinary members of the public have no idea. >> yes, that's exactly right. in the evans case you mentioned there, several people received fines for revealing the identity of the vic -- victim. and in that case all of those individuals said they simply weren't aware of the laws in this area. so it is an area where education needs to be improved. whether you are going to get a lot of social media used as actually reading the attorney general's guidance, that's a separate question. but i think as part of the

measure of art, education in schools as well, hopefully that will help to reduce the problems we have seen recently. >> that's fine for countries like england and whales, but of course, internationally, it's a separate problem, so the laws don't apply to anybody who is tweeting about a british case but from abooed, and it's very difficult to regulate that, isn't it? >> yes. >> particularly when there are different laws in different countries. >> yes, exactly. that is a major problem. it has an impact on high profile cases which would attract international interest. but there are those high-profile celebrities, politicians, companies, et cetera, and it's difficult, and you look at the position in the u.s., where, you know, prosecution for publication of -- of these sorts of comments for contempt of

court is very, very limited and that is a massive problem, and i think one really interesting example was about ten years ago there was a u.s. citizen was convicted for killing a policeman in the uk. now the uk media was subjected to restrictions on reporting in that instance, both if one of the jurors went online and typed the defendant's name, he would have found he was on the run from u.s. authorities. >> good to talk to you. thank you so much. now lawmakers in in france are about to vote on a new anti-prostitution law. the measures would see the clients facing fines of more than $2,000, rising to double that for repeat offenders. sex workers say they are worried the new laws will drive the trade underground. prostitution is currently

illegal in france. we'll have a live update on that vote in the next half hour. also coming up from europe. >> i'll tell you how this neck wrap could make the traditional bike helmet a thing of the past. and a break through on the campaign to stop elephant poaching. and we'll tell you why england's cricketers are seeking redemption ♪ u.s. vice president joe biden says he is deeply concerned about china's introduction of an air defense zone in the east china sea. al jazeera's rob mcbride reports. >> reporter: smiles for the cameras, but the start of talks

are expected to be tough. on biden the burden of voicing the anger of america's allies in their standoff with china. but biden knows he has to stop short of damaging chinese and u.s. relations. for the chinese president, the need to look strong in his neighbor's eyes, while redefining the very nature of cha >> stephanie:'s relationship with america. >> the first test what the president has referred to is the great power and new great power relationships. great power rivalries in the past have lead to war, and the new relationship should head for peace. how this great power relationship is going to play out remaining to be seen. >> as biden arrived in beijing, state-run media was already carrying criticism, warning

america of the perils offing tyking sides. >> you are candid and you are constructive in developing this new relationship, both qualities are sore i will needed. >> reporter: biden is perhaps the person in the current u.s. administration for doing business with the president. he has come to know him well over a number of meetings. one of biden's previous visits to china, he called in on this beijing restaurant, a visit the locals still remembered fondly. they would welcome him back they said. >> translator: i hope the two countries can focus on peace and try their best to avoid the use of force. >> translator: i hope the chinese people and american people will remain friendly. >> reporter: but observers question how far friendship will

go given the national interests at work on all sides. rob mcbride, al jazeera, hong kong. a mass grave containing 21 skulls has been found near a military base in somali. prosecutors say it contains the bodies of soldiers who opposed the former military chief. libya's government is confident of resuming full oil production within the next two weeks. the oil minister made the promise after the army threatened to use force against armed protesters. a mix of militias, tribesman, and political minorities have shut down the oil fields for five months. they have been demanding a greater share of the country's oil well. four somali men have been denied bail in kenya. they are accused of being involved in this the west gate

shopping mall attack. african and asian nations have reached a deal to crack down on the illegal trade in rivalry. the number of africanel -- elephants is declining rapidly. >> reporter: they have walked the planet for a mill lennia, now the future of these on malls is being decided here in bo botswa botswana. all 30 countries present agree to help protect africa's dwindling elephant population. >> this was unique and very important. >> reporter: up to 20% of

africa's elephants could be killed in the next ten years if poaching continues at the current rate. about 22,000 elephants were killed illegal last year. just half a million elephants remain on the african continent, down from 1.3 million in 1980. ivories products are considered status symbols in parts of asia. now for the first time, countries across two continents have agreed to do something about it. >> it is now time for africa and asia to join forces to protect this valued species. >> reporter: to do that, 30 countries, including china, agreed to classify wildlife trafficking as a serious crime and hand down harsher

punishments. it is also agreed that african countries must strengthen laws to protect elephants to safeguard the lives of people who rely on tourism. there was agreement that something must be done to stop poaching and the illegal trade in ivy, but translating those practi practices will be the true test. we're almost halfway through this news hour. coming up in just a moment, we'll run through today's top stories. and in the next 30 minutes, silence forever. movie buffs mourn the loss of the silent screen magic. i'm in youngstown, ohio where they are beautifying the city by tearing done homes like

this. and kobe bryant edges closer to ament come back following his injury. power of the people until we restore

>> this isn't a new channel, this is a watershed moment in media for america. >> this entire region is utterly devastated. >> people our here are struggling. >> the fire jumped the highway we took earlier. >> your average viewer want's to actually understand how the health care law is going to help them or hurt them. >> they know they can get extremist bickering somewhere else. >> people say that we're revolutionary. our revolution is just going back to doing the best in journalism. >> this is the place to go watch high quality journalism, period.

hello again, adrian finnegan in doha with the top stories this hour. protests in thailand appear to be dying down ahead of the king's birthday on thursday. a cleanup is underway in bangkok after ten days of opposition rallies. the funeral of a leader who was killed outside of his home in beirut. hezbollah blames israel. but israel denies any involvement. nate toe has condemned the use of force by police in ukraine, during the ongoing anti-government protestings. more now on the anti-government protests in thailand, the political tension has exposed the deep divisions

that run through thai society. wayne haye has traveled north in thailand where government supporters are standing by, ready to come out in support of the country's leader. >> reporter: here there is little doubt who most people support in thailand's battlefield. the government is facing stiff opposition from protesters. this is a farmer and member of the so-called red shirts, a political movement that helped bring the government to power in an election, and is vowing to keep it there. >> translator: the government that comes from the majority will survive. >> reporter: the prime minister's party easily won the last election on the back of support in areas like this. her brother, the former prime minister, built his power base here through populous policies that favored the poor. he lives in self imposed exile

following the coup that forced him from office. this current political crisis was sparked by the government's push for an amnesty bill which could have paved the way for his return. this man leads one of the red shirt factions. he runs a community radio station which makes no claim to being politically independent. he says the people are still angry about what happened to the prime minister, and they will invade bangkok in big numbers if they do the same to his sister. >> translator: you will see a riot. >> reporter: even the stanchest supporters acknowledge he wasn't perfect, but they say he did things for him that no other prime has. >> translator: he helped the grass roots, he gave us cheap

healthcare, he did everything for us. that's why we love him. >> reporter: the people of the north and northeast have always claimed they are dismissed from the elite in bangkok. but what they know now is despite the party they vote for winning an election, they are preparing for the prospect of another fight. the situation another fukushima nuclear plant remains very complex and challenging. the plant was damaged following an earthquake and tsunami in 2011. un nuclear experts have praised japan's efforts to clean up the area, but they say much more work is needed. thousands have formed a human chain around parliament. the legislation which is due to be passed this week would expand

the definition of state secrets. protestering in bali have been holding rallies. 159 countries are deciding on issues, including food subsidies and trade tariffs. government forces are fighting rebels linked to al-qaeda for control of a christian town in syria. fighters control the town near the damascus highway. reports suggest the rebelled moved 12 nuns to a nearby town. it is not clear whether they were kidnapped or evacuated. at least 18 people were killed when rebels fired rockets into the government held areas. 30 people were wounded. more now on the voting that

is taking place in the french parliament on new anti-prostitution laws. the latest from felicity barr. yes, these measures would see the clients of prostitutes facing fines of more than $2,000 with that punishment doubling for repeat offenders. prostitution itself isn't actually illegal in france, where brothels and pimping are. jackky is in paris. and jackky what is the latest on the votes? >> well as you can see, they have been debating the draft law throughout the last couple of hours in paris. however, we did have an indication during a formal show of hands last week about what the voting intentions would be, and there was appear to be brood cross-party support for the new measures which would seek to

criminallize the clientsover prostitutes. it is expected that the new draft law will be passed in the lower house of parliament and then going on to the upper house later. >> if it is passed how difficult will be it to be implemented? >> there has been a huge controversy in the buildup of this vote in parliament. the advocates say it is intended to protect pros cutes, protect women, and create a system whereby they would be the victims of clients. there has been protests against the law. sex workers say that in fact anything that criminalizes their clients will make life even more dangerous for the prostitutes themselves. it will force the whole sex industry further underground.

and also there have been politicians including a right-wing leader who have spoken out against the law saying prostitution is the oldest profession in the world, and any attempt to legislate against it would be doomed to failure since as long as there is a demand for paid sex, there will be women there to satisfy that demand. >> jackie thank you. in italy a landslide has ripped through a town. so far, though, no casualties have been reported. new figures show that last year for the first time bicycle sales outpaced new car sales in nearly all european countries. european demand for cars is now at its lowest-ever level. in italy the momentum is definitely on the side of the bike. car sales are down to the same

level they were in the mid-1960s, and in germany more and more people are opting for pedal power. in sweden two wheels have always been popular. the challenge is convincing the cyclist to wear helmets. >> reporter: cycling is a big part of life in sweden, about 80% of people ride bikes as part of their daily commute and for pleasure, but only a third wear helmets. >> i have fallen with a cycle, but never on my head, so why should you wear a helmet then? this >> i crashed with a helmet once. and it just cracked in two pieces so. wrath the helmet than my head. >> when we were kids we were learned to ride a bike, and we never used the helmet >> reporter: two students decided to create a helmet that people would actually want to wear. it was born and mixes high-tech

with high fashion. >> they wanted something more discrete, something that would go better with their personal style and not interfere with their hair styles for instance, a lot of vanity issues, and people were also asking for something invisible. >> reporter: it is wrapped around your neck, you zip it up, and activate it. and now i'm fully protected and ready to ride. the collar has sensors which analyze movement patterns 200 times a second to determine when a cyclist is in a real crash. when that happens an air bag deploys. each year 300 people sustain head injuries in cycling accidents. and road safety experts say any initiative to protect riders is welcome. >> in sweden we have like 12 to 30 killed every year. of course it is worrying, and we

are working now to -- to increase the helmet use. >> reporter: once it is deployed it can't be reused, and at $540 apiece, some see it as an expensive investment. but innovators are hoping it will become an essential part of the cyclist's uniform. all right. that's it from europe, back now to doha and adrian. in bangladesh three people were killed when activists protesting about last month's elections when they derailed a train. two people have been arrested. the group is banned from taking part in the election and is allied to the bangladesh nationalist's party.

there has been more looting in argentina's third largest city after police went on strike there. public buses and train services have been canceled and shops closed until the police return to work. a golden era in the history of hollywood could be in danger of dying out forever. the majority of silent films have been lost or damaged beyond repair. that means that one day stars like buster keaton, and charlie cap listen could be unknown to future generations. ♪ >> reporter: charlie chaplain, one of the greats of cinema. a pioneering entertainer, he wrote the theme during the era of silent film. ♪ >> reporter: a director, composer and actor, he is seen here in his signature role.

the endearing, and enduring, track. early motion pictures were caught silent because synchronized dialogue was not yet possible. it showed the emotional swell of a scene that was added during editing. but silent film made ground work for cinematography. once technology caught up with the art, modern day film as we know it, or talkies were born. and silent film effectively disappeared. the golden age of the american silent film lasted from 1912 to 1939. during that period nearly 11,000 movies were made. but most can't be seen today. only a quarter have survived in this their entirety. a lot of them in a lower quality than the original format.

another 5% incomplete. one of them is this version of cleopatra. the minutes are preserved and now prized as a cinematic classic. the latest study released blames decay and neglect for the loss. the first generation of film stock was made of nitrate, but movie studios have also played a role in destroying prints and negatives, and along with it a part of history. fantastic. let's talk more about this now with michael hogan. he joins us live from new york. michael good to have you with us. this is a tragedy, isn't it?

a cultural legacy lost. >> thank you. well, it is. you know, there are 11,000 of these films were made, that's almost 600 a year, and to think that only a quarter survive, it makes you think when you go to a museum and see a roman statute and for every one you see there are a dozen or more lost. but this is what happens when people are cranking out films to meet a demand and not thinking about the future or history, or the legacy. >> so people were seeing it more on business terms and not as a art form? or was it because it was difficult to preserve the film because of the material on which they were made. >> absolutely. though materials were difficult to preserve, and there was incentive in some cases to felt down the negatives because they

had silver in them. so the people who had control of the negatives might have thought of it more in terms of commerce. and for them it was let's get the next thing out, not let's take precautions to make sure this is preserved. >> so many movies have been lost forever. give us an idea of some of the movie greats that we have lost? >> well, there's an early marks brothers film that groucho marks may have had a role in destroying because he didn't think it stood up to their catalog. alfred hitchcock's first film, the first gentlemen prefer blondes. there was a 9-hour version of one film, it is unknown whether it was one of the great

masterpieces of all time, or a self indulgent slog. it would be nice to see the kind of singles and bunts rather than humes to get a feel for what the era was like. >> yeah, and some cheeky films in there as well? >> yes, the cleopatra had an edgy dimension. i think we have lost the film that had one of the early nude scenes. probably people had a tendency to preserve the respectable films, and we have lost some of the darker side of american culture at that time. >> michael hogan good to talk to you. just ahead here on this news hour, in sport we countdown to the final world cup draw in brazil, but one big issue is dominating the meeting.

jo will be here with all of the details.

♪ hello again sport in a moment, but first the former industrial region known as the rust belt the areas once thriving cities began to struggle l when manufacturing jobs began to disappear. people moved away, unemployment went up and so did v vie -- violent crime. but there is a brighter side a new lease of life for many of

the empty homes that were left behind. >> reporter: this father is a crime-fighting priest on a mission. >> we're looking at six blighted, boarded up, nuisance houses that has been used for criminal activity. so we needed to get rid of them. >> after two perishers were murdered nearby, he persuaded local officials to let the church replace the abandoned homes with sports fields and parks. >> crime has dropped drastically in the last two years. violent crime has been cut in half. >> reporter: it's part of a renewal project going on in youngstown, ohio. >> you imagine it as this huge tsunami that hit town, it has taken probably 30 years for the waters to re -- reseed.

>> reporter: youngstown is tearing houses down and persuading banks to offer houses through their home bank. every house that is down is one last eye sore. gary, indiana has an underuseded convention center, but now many mid-sized cities are going small instead. youngstown is shrinking its housing stock one at a time. >> when you get there, people say everything was for not or was a failure, so i think in we

can do some smaller things, and get something going. >> reporter: by going small, they are giving themselves room to grow. time now for the sport, here is jo. >> thank you. we're counting down to friday's world cup draw in brazil. but the president has admitted that some of the stadiums might not be ready in time. friday's draw will determine which teams will play each other in the group stages and almost as important where they'll play. two venues are thought to be the most behind schedule. they are expected to be completed by the end of february, but the new stadium that was the seen of a fatal accidenting last week is set to be ready on time. the draw will be held on friday, and the readiness of the venues is at the top of the

issues. >> reporter: stayedia is what everybody is talking about, six stayedia have not been delivered yet, three are the most critical. now we heard from the sports minister and he is staying very upbeat. he says even though two of those stadiums will not make the december 31st deadline, he says they will be delivered in january. some people are saying that is a very ambitious product the pitch still needs to be cut down, the roof is not completed yet. so a lot of work is being done, but clearly right now with no time to spare here in brazil, the big talk is how to get these stadia, completed if not by the december 31st deadline, at least by january or early february. on to cricket now, australia

will resume hostilities with england a little bit later. england almost certainly will have to win the second test if they are to have a realistic chance of retaining the ashes earned. >> reporter: seeking redemption in the city of churches. england returned to a very different-looking oval from the one where they recorded an innings victory three years ago. the oval is now a stadium, and englanded seemed a different side from those who retained the ashes back in 2011. this time around the withdrawal of jonathan trump because of a stress-related illness means a reshuffling of the batting order. >> obviously from experience last time, you let your cricket

do the talking. we had the same hostile environment last time we came here. and the hostility changes because everyone was very respectful of the way we played. last time we didn't do ourselves justice. >> reporter: 2005, andrew flintoff help his side win. four years later steward brood bolled england to victory to regain the ashes, and last yearalster cook lead his team to a win in india. australia's 381 run win in brisbane was the first in this large test. they aren't expecting the tourists to fall quite so easily this time around.

>> you'll see two very good balling attacks. if there is any two attacks that will be able to find a way, it's these two. i think there will be enough in the wicket early, and spins will play a big part. >> reporter: the wicket may well hold the key to who wins in the match. this man was a curator here two years ago. the miami heat's winning streak has been brought to an after losing to the pistons. seven of the nine players used on court scored in the double figures. kyle had the most point grabbing 18 to give detroit the 107-97 win. kobe bryant has moved closer

to his first start in over six months after taking part in practice on tuesday. the former mvp tore his achilles in april, and without him the lakers have suffered a poor start to the season. bryant is hoping to make his come back against the kings on friday. formula one races have been dropped from the calendar. all three had been listed as provisional, but none were on the final version. that means next season will be 19 races instead of a record 22. for more on sport, check out our website, at aljazeera.com/sports. >> that will do it for the news hour. thanks for watching. i'll see you again. bye for now.

new details on what lead to that deadly plane crash in new york. the commuter train was traveling far too fast, more than 80 miles an hour down the track. the question is why? lisa stark joins us from washington. what is the latest? >> that train should have been going at 30 miles an hour around the curve. there are no published reports this morning including from wabc, those reports indicate that the engineer, william rockefeller has said he may have zoned out at the controls. he may have dosed off and then snapped awake too late to stop the

train in time the ntsb will continue to interview the engineer and also look back at welcome al jazeera america. i'm ste -- stephanie sy. president obama is set to speak in a few minutes about the economy. a top hezbollah leader is killed. the lebanese group says he was assassinated. ♪ the u.s. economy is growing but so is the income gap between the rich and the poor. president obama will talk about how to change that and other aspects of the economy when h